A pale figure lunged at Alex, hurling a punch with intense force.
Alex swiftly leapt aside, launching webs that clung to nearby buildings. He swung past effortlessly, narrowly dodging the blow.
His Spider Telepathy had activated.
He sensed another spider-powered presence nearby.
To his surprise—it was Ghost Spider Gwen.
Alex murmured, "What's Gwen doing here?"
A realization flashed in his mind—he recalled the middle-aged officer named George in the restroom earlier.
And George had a daughter.
A police officer named George with a daughter—it fit Gwen's father perfectly.
Could that have been George Stacy?
Had Gwen come to bring him food, only to stumble into this situation?
From her perspective, Gwen watched Alex shoot webs and fly away, her eyes widening in shock.
"This is…?! Spider-Man!"
Earlier, the moment she arrived at the police station, her Spider Telepathy had kicked in—not as a danger warning, but a peculiar, uncanny sensation.
Then she saw a masked figure leaping from the fifth floor of the building.
She tore off her coat and rushed out as Ghost Spider.
To her surprise, the figure also fired webs and swung off with agility.
That strange feeling—that was the spider sense reacting to another spider-powered being.
There were only two spider-ability users in the city.
Her… and the recently-emerged Spider-Man.
Wasting no time, Gwen fired her webs and swung after Alex.
Moments later, they both landed on rooftops across from each other.
Gwen charged forward, flinging webs and calling out, "Spider-Man, why did you sneak into the police station?"
As her webs closed in, Alex's Spider Telepathy triggered again, allowing him to dodge with ease.
Then Gwen lunged to capture him.
Alex leapt backward, covering his eyes in a sudden motion.
Gwen crossed her arms to shield herself—
Bang!
A powerful force blasted Gwen, sending her flying out of the high-rise building.
She arced downward, falling fast—
Then swiftly fired a webline to anchor herself to the wall and swung back up to the rooftop.
But the other figure was already gone.
Gwen rubbed her sore arms, numb from the impact. "Why is he so strong… far beyond my level. Is this the real power of Spider-Man?" A flicker of fear crept into her eyes.
Her gaze turned to the police station.
She frowned. "Why was Spider-Man there? Was he searching for someone? Something?"
She returned to the wooded area, retrieved her coat, and walked back to the entrance.
At the station entrance, the middle-aged man from the restroom stood, waiting.
Seeing Gwen approach, he asked, "Why did you come from that direction?"
Gwen grinned, a little cheeky. "I saw a cat… stopped to pet it."
She handed over a paper bag. "Here's your favorite: Iron Man-style cheeseburger."
George smiled warmly.
They chatted for a few minutes.
Casually, Gwen brought up the blackout on the fifth floor.
She'd seen Spider-Man escape from there.
"There was a power outage. Nothing serious happened, right?" she asked.
George shook his head. "No, just a random circuit trip. Weird—hasn't happened in years."
Gwen's brow furrowed.
What had Spider-Man done?
She didn't know, but it had clearly involved preparation—cutting the power, infiltrating the station.
It wasn't random.
Elsewhere.
Alex swung high above the streets of New York.
"Next stop: the driver."
"His address from the file is close by. Let's see if he still lives there."
Moments later, Alex landed on the roof of an old single-family home.
He slipped in through a window and paused to listen.
Steady breathing—only two people inside.
He moved toward the living room, examining photos.
None matched the man he was looking for.
Following the breathing, he peeked into a bedroom—just a young couple in their thirties.
He left silently.
"Looks like the driver's long gone," he murmured.
Pulling out his phone, Alex hacked into the police system again.
He searched for the driver's file.
Soon, his brows furrowed.
The man had died—just one month after Daredevil had gone blind. Cause: heart attack.
The man had worked for a local fleet. He'd had a wife and a son. The wife still lived locally, but the son had moved to Seattle.
"Dead," Alex muttered. "Doesn't feel like a coincidence."
He felt there was more behind the mysterious chemical spill from "Subject 7."
This death didn't seem natural.
He messaged Kurt: "Check the driver's old company and his wife's current address tomorrow."
Then he stopped the investigation for the night.
There wasn't much else he could pull without a warrant or suspect record.
And besides—it was late.
He needed rest.
There was training the next day.
Without sleep, he wouldn't recover properly.
At a military base.
On an open tarmac, General Ross walked with several researchers.
"It's time to enhance him further," Ross said.
The researchers nodded. "Yes. Carl can still evolve."
"He needs more strength, better defense. The last experiment was incomplete—his ability has flaws."
"Right now, his strength is locked. It won't grow. Worse—his powers will burn through his life over time. It'll kill him."
"Only a complete experiment can unlock his limits and stabilize his powers."
"And," the scientist added, "only with that, can we fully analyze and replicate them."
Ross nodded. Then frowned. "Won't this make him stronger? Maybe too strong?"
"What if he escapes again?"
The researcher hesitated. "That's a real concern."
"If he breaks loose, he could wipe out this entire lab. Ultrasound suppression won't help much if the damage is too great."
Ross fell silent for a long moment.
Finally, he said, "I'll bring in Hatred to control him."
The researcher grimaced. "Sir… Hatred? That could make things worse."
Ross's voice was firm. "There's no other option."
"Only Hatred will agree to help us with these kinds of experiments."
"I'll handle it."
The researcher reluctantly nodded. "Then let's proceed."
The next morning.
Alex awoke, full of energy.
Suddenly—whoosh!
A small black figure zipped into the room.
It stood tall on the table, eyes sparkling with purpose.
Mini Spider-Man was ready for training.
Alex looked at him, nodding. "Very proactive. Good."
Mini Spider-Man wiggled his tiny rear happily, eyes gleaming.
Alex stretched. "Let me wash up—we'll head to training right after."
"Today… I'm going to challenge 24 tons."
"I'll awaken the power of Thunder."
Mini Spider-Man raised his tiny front legs in victory, cheering.
Woo~
Like a tiny, fuzzy warrior.
Alex sent a message to Kurt: "Check the fleet and wife."
Then dashed into the bathroom.
Freshened up. Got dressed.
Downstairs, Little Liz sat at the table, slumped, studying under his father's supervision.
Seeing Alex, Klaue asked, "Heading out?"
Alex nodded. "Time to work out."
Little Liz spotted the mini Spider-Man poking out of Alex's pocket and waved. "Hi, little Spider-Man!"
The creature peeked out, waved a tiny leg like a beckoning cat, then ducked back in.
Alex left.
The Osborn training facility.
Kurt greeted him at the entrance.
"Boss, I've already started digging. You'll have updates by noon."
Alex nodded and entered the training room.
He stood before the massive training equipment.
"I've reached 23 tons. I can feel lightning in my cells now."
"But I still can't control it."
"It's just dormant… waiting."
He put on his electric shock device.
And began.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Alex trained like a beast, lifting unimaginable weight.
Nearby, Mini Spider-Man tied a red band across his forehead.
Eyes sharp. Body braced.
Together, the two trained with passion and fury.
Sweat soaked their bodies.
Queens, New York.
LaGuardia Airport.
A plane touched down.
A tall, seductive woman with emerald green hair and sunglasses stepped off.
She looked toward the skyline.
"Alex… I'm here."
Behind her, HYDRA agents followed.
One asked, "Any news?"
"Not yet," another said. "But as long as he's in New York, we'll find him."
Madame Viper nodded coldly.
Back in the training room.
Alex pushed his body to the brink.
Muscles tore and rebuilt.
Cells crackled.
His inner electricity surged—
Then, all at once, it broke through.
The bioelectricity awoke, flowing like a living current through him.
Alex felt it.
He could command it.
Eyes wide with awe, he looked at his hands.
"Electricity… come to me!"